Dimitris Itoudis addresses Greece's biggest weakness in prep games / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Vangelis Stolis Credit Vangelis Stolis

In their Acropolis Tournament premiere, Greece started the friendly game against Poland in impressive fashion. The hosts were up 27-10 at the end of the first quarter and nothing prepared the crowd of 9,000 in attendance for a competitive outing.

Tyler Dorsey

Position:PG, SGAge:26Height:193 cmWeight:83 kgBirth place:California, United States of AmericaProfileNewsStatistics

It took Poland a few minutes and a stunning 0-15 run to establish new rules in the contest and make things tough for the squad coached by Dimitris Itoudis, who had Mike Budenholzer sitting on the other side of Greece's bench.

With the exception of a solid fourth quarter, when the hosts cruised to victory, the home team lacked energy and intensity. The two teams weren't given much help from the referees, who called 49 fouls on both sides.

"We had a very good start, which did not last for various reasons. One was the zone defense, a second factor was Poland's toughness," Dimitris Itoudis said in the presser.

"Poland shot well, gave us a hard time and we reacted in the third quarter where we had better pace. We've not practiced offense against zone defense that much, just in two training sessions," the Greek coach admitted.

In fact, Poland was tempting Greece to shoot from distance, as the hosts didn't live up to their initial effectiveness and ended up making 34 attempts. On the other hand, their two-point shot attempts were only 29 despite the very high percentage (76%). Sloukas, Lountzis and Papanikolaou missed all their nine shots from deep - some of them completely open.

"I think zone defense will be one of our opponents' weapons against us. Against Poland, it was combined with poor defense from our side. We expect to see how we will react against Georgia's zone. It's a part that we have to work on in these friendlies and in the practices that we have left," Itoudis informed the media.

But the new bench boss of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul also conceded that Greece is trying to become a team. According to Itoudis, the successful result of those efforts will depend on various factors.

"We have to become a team, we are not one yet. There are players who haven't played together yet. All this contributes to us becoming a solid team, which will be together in difficult situations, will change the pace and will have good communication, even with eye contact," he pointed out.

Credit Vangelis Stolis

"We are a team with size and length that can force opponents' turnovers. Poland's return through defense and shots made it difficult for us and this run was useful. We don't have endless timeouts, you can't stop the flow many times. We are interested in seeing things and weaknesses," Itoudis continued.

Maybe the most encouraging news for Greece was Kostas Sloukas' return to action following a period of individual practice and abstinence from games. Against Poland, the 32-year-old point guard produced 4 points, one assist, two turnovers. But most importantly, he got to play almost 20 minutes, regardless of how productive or effective he was on the court.

"He had been out since the Greek league playoffs. He also needs to find his rhythm and role, but he's very experienced and will get acclimated quickly. Sloukas is an important player for us, both in creation and execution," Itoudis commented.

Credit Fotodiena.lt/M.Baranauskas

If Greece's players need more practice against zone defense, Tyler Dorsey notes that "offensively we are gradually improving." The Greek-American guard hit 4/9 three-point shots, yet emphasized that defense will decide whether his team will be able to reach a higher level.

"It's nice to play with Giannis and the other guys. Giannis is constantly attacking the basket and passing the ball. My job is to turn those passes into assists. Opponents are building a wall and it feels good to be free to take a lot of shots," Dorsey added.

The Dallas Mavericks shooting guard said he's "optimistic about the EuroBasket" and defined Greece's goal as capturing a medal.

"That's the goal, but in order to do this we have to play with confidence."

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